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Decapping
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<h2 id="method">Method</h2> <p>Decapping is usually carried out by chemical etching of the covering,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> laser cutting, laser evaporation of the covering,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> <a href="/facts/Plasma_etching/VEHxRdLI">plasma etching</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> or mechanical removal of the cover using a <a href="/facts/Milling_(machining)/PVXTgNyz">milling machine</a>, saw blade,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a> using hot air<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a> or by desoldering and cutting.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a> The process can be either destructive or non-destructive of the internal die. </p><p>Chemical etching usually involves subjecting the (if made of plastic) <a href="/facts/IC_package/fazIw78t">IC package</a> to concentrated or fuming nitric acid, heated concentrated <a href="/facts/Sulfuric_acid/Wom6fymJ">sulfuric acid</a>, white fuming nitric acid or a mixture of the two for some time, possibly while applying heat externally with a hot plate or hot air gun,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18"><sup>18</sup></a> which dissolve the package while leaving the die intact.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19"><sup>19</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20"><sup>20</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21"><sup>21</sup></a> The acids are dangerous, so protective equipment such as appropriate gloves, full face respirator with appropriate acid cartridges, a lab coat and a fume hood are required.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:22" href="#fn:22"><sup>22</sup></a> </p><p>Laser decapping scans a high power laser beam across the plastic IC package to vaporize it, while avoiding the actual silicon die.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:23" href="#fn:23"><sup>23</sup></a> </p><p>In a common version of non-destructive, mechanical delidding, one removes the IHS of an IC such as a computer processor using an oven to soften the solder (if present) between the IHS and the die(s) and using a knife to cut the adhesive in the periphery of the IHS, which joins the IHS with the processor package substrate, which is often a specialized printed circuit board often only called a substrate or sometimes an interposer. In many processors the dies are also soldered to the IHS which can still be removed by applying heat until the solder melts, and removing the IHS while the solder is still liquid. The die(s) are mounted on the substrate using <a href="/facts/Flip_chip/2jleJDJI">flip chip</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:24" href="#fn:24"><sup>24</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="gallery">Gallery</h2> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Die_shot/qjFge8AI">Die shot</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Reverse_engineering/pmJCV7J7">Reverse engineering</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Sample_preparation_equipment/DJl556d6">Sample preparation equipment</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"MAME devs are cracking open arcade chips to get around DRM – Ars Technica". arstechnica.com. 25 July 2017. <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/07/mame-devs-are-cracking-open-arcade-chips-to-get-around-drm/?amp=1" target="_blank">https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/07/mame-devs-are-cracking-open-arcade-chips-to-get-around-drm/?amp=1</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"How to crack open some computer chips and take your own die shots - ExtremeTech". www.extremetech.com. <a href="https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/141077-how-to-crack-open-some-computer-chips-and-take-your-own-die-shots" target="_blank">https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/141077-how-to-crack-open-some-computer-chips-and-take-your-own-die-shots</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"Don't Try This at Home: Decapping ICs with Boiling Acid". <a href="https://labs.f-secure.com/archive/dont-try-this-at-home-decapping-ics/" target="_blank">https://labs.f-secure.com/archive/dont-try-this-at-home-decapping-ics/</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Frumusanu, Andrei. "TechInsights Publishes Apple A12 Die Shot: Our Take". www.anandtech.com. <a href="https://www.anandtech.com/show/13393/techinsights-publishes-apple-a12-die-shot-our-take" target="_blank">https://www.anandtech.com/show/13393/techinsights-publishes-apple-a12-die-shot-our-take</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Frumusanu, Andrei. "ChipRebel Releases Exynos 9820 Die Shot: M4 CPUs in New Cluster". www.anandtech.com. <a href="https://www.anandtech.com/show/14069/chiprebel-releases-exynos-9820-die-shot" target="_blank">https://www.anandtech.com/show/14069/chiprebel-releases-exynos-9820-die-shot</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"ESA Update on Irradiation Facilities" (PDF). indico.cern.ch. <a href="https://indico.cern.ch/event/1095485/contributions/4774180/attachments/2467494/4231918/Update%20on%20ESA%20Supported%20irradiation%20Facilities_F.pdf" target="_blank">https://indico.cern.ch/event/1095485/contributions/4774180/attachments/2467494/4231918/Update%20on%20ESA%20Supported%20irradiation%20Facilities_F.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"Status of High Energy Irradiation Facilities in Europe" (PDF). nepp.nasa.gov. <a href="https://nepp.nasa.gov/workshops/dhesee2021/talks/4a_Status%20of%20High%20Energy%20Irradiation%20Facilities%20in%20Europe.pdf" target="_blank">https://nepp.nasa.gov/workshops/dhesee2021/talks/4a_Status%20of%20High%20Energy%20Irradiation%20Facilities%20in%20Europe.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"Electronic Packaging and Space Parts News, EEE Links Vol. 5 No. 2, October 1999" (PDF). ntrs.nasa.gov. <a href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19990109155/downloads/19990109155.pdf" target="_blank">https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19990109155/downloads/19990109155.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Fenlon, Wes (26 June 2017). "I performed brain surgery on my CPU to lower its temperature 15 degrees". PC Gamer. <a href="https://www.pcgamer.com/delidding-your-cpu-is-scary-but-worth-itand-surprisingly-easy/#:~:text=Delidding%20is%20the%20act%20of,%2C%20and%20voila%3A%20lower%20temperatures." target="_blank">https://www.pcgamer.com/delidding-your-cpu-is-scary-but-worth-itand-surprisingly-easy/#:~:text=Delidding%20is%20the%20act%20of,%2C%20and%20voila%3A%20lower%20temperatures.</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"How to crack open some computer chips and take your own die shots - ExtremeTech". www.extremetech.com. <a href="https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/141077-how-to-crack-open-some-computer-chips-and-take-your-own-die-shots" target="_blank">https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/141077-how-to-crack-open-some-computer-chips-and-take-your-own-die-shots</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>"Delid and Decap | Semitracks". www.semitracks.com. <a href="https://www.semitracks.com/reference-material/failure-and-yield-analysis/failure-analysis-package-level/delid-and-decap.php" target="_blank">https://www.semitracks.com/reference-material/failure-and-yield-analysis/failure-analysis-package-level/delid-and-decap.php</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>"decap:epoxy [Silicon Pr0n]". siliconpr0n.org. <a href="https://siliconpr0n.org/wiki/doku.php?id=decap:epoxy" target="_blank">https://siliconpr0n.org/wiki/doku.php?id=decap:epoxy</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>"Delid and Decap | Semitracks". www.semitracks.com. <a href="https://www.semitracks.com/reference-material/failure-and-yield-analysis/failure-analysis-package-level/delid-and-decap.php" target="_blank">https://www.semitracks.com/reference-material/failure-and-yield-analysis/failure-analysis-package-level/delid-and-decap.php</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>Shirriff, Ken (February 2016). "555 timer teardown: inside the world's most popular IC". Ken Shirriff's blog. Retrieved 2025-02-04. <a href="https://www.righto.com/2016/02/555-timer-teardown-inside-worlds-most.html" target="_blank">https://www.righto.com/2016/02/555-timer-teardown-inside-worlds-most.html</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>"Chip Decapping The Easy Way". March 11, 2020. <a href="https://hackaday.com/2020/03/11/chip-decapping-the-easy-way/" target="_blank">https://hackaday.com/2020/03/11/chip-decapping-the-easy-way/</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>"AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X Delidded, Tested With Direct-Die Cooling". December 17, 2019. <a href="https://wccftech.com/amd-ryzen-threadripper-3970x-3960x-delidding-direct-die-cooling-tested/" target="_blank">https://wccftech.com/amd-ryzen-threadripper-3970x-3960x-delidding-direct-die-cooling-tested/</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>"decap:epoxy [Silicon Pr0n]". siliconpr0n.org. <a href="https://siliconpr0n.org/wiki/doku.php?id=decap:epoxy" target="_blank">https://siliconpr0n.org/wiki/doku.php?id=decap:epoxy</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:18"><p>"Don't Try This at Home: Decapping ICs with Boiling Acid". <a href="https://labs.f-secure.com/archive/dont-try-this-at-home-decapping-ics/" target="_blank">https://labs.f-secure.com/archive/dont-try-this-at-home-decapping-ics/</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:19"><p>"Learn IC Decapping". October 21, 2020. <a href="https://hackaday.com/2020/10/21/learn-ic-decapping/" target="_blank">https://hackaday.com/2020/10/21/learn-ic-decapping/</a> <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:20"><p>"How to crack open some computer chips and take your own die shots - ExtremeTech". www.extremetech.com. <a href="https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/141077-how-to-crack-open-some-computer-chips-and-take-your-own-die-shots" target="_blank">https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/141077-how-to-crack-open-some-computer-chips-and-take-your-own-die-shots</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:21"><p>"Delid and Decap | Semitracks". www.semitracks.com. <a href="https://www.semitracks.com/reference-material/failure-and-yield-analysis/failure-analysis-package-level/delid-and-decap.php" target="_blank">https://www.semitracks.com/reference-material/failure-and-yield-analysis/failure-analysis-package-level/delid-and-decap.php</a> <a href="#fnref:21" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:22"><p>"decap:epoxy [Silicon Pr0n]". siliconpr0n.org. <a href="https://siliconpr0n.org/wiki/doku.php?id=decap:epoxy" target="_blank">https://siliconpr0n.org/wiki/doku.php?id=decap:epoxy</a> <a href="#fnref:22" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:23"><p>"decap:epoxy [Silicon Pr0n]". siliconpr0n.org. <a href="https://siliconpr0n.org/wiki/doku.php?id=decap:epoxy" target="_blank">https://siliconpr0n.org/wiki/doku.php?id=decap:epoxy</a> <a href="#fnref:23" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:24"><p>"AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3960X Delidded, Tested With Direct-Die Cooling". December 17, 2019. <a href="https://wccftech.com/amd-ryzen-threadripper-3970x-3960x-delidding-direct-die-cooling-tested/" target="_blank">https://wccftech.com/amd-ryzen-threadripper-3970x-3960x-delidding-direct-die-cooling-tested/</a> <a href="#fnref:24" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>